My thoughts, my faith, my travels, my life.

In an instant I can go from feeling completely confident, on top of the world, master juggler and super woman to feeling overwhelmed. All it takes is one item on my checklist to not pan out and I suddenly question my competency at everything. It’s an instant before my action stepskick in and I’m on top of the world again. Still, that interminable instant can feel devastating.

The speed of thought is scary at times. I feel like I can do an around-the-world trip in my mind several times over about everything that is not as it should be or everything I could have done better before I remember to STOP and breathe.

And when I breathe, I remember the One who gives me breath. I remember His Faithfulness. I remember His Love for me.

This helps me start my “action” steps which I keep ready for times such as these:

Remember how much you are loved.

Remember what He has done for you.

Remember who you are.

Remember who you are called to be.

Remember your guarantee that all will come to good.

The Guarantee:We know how much God loves us and we have put our trust in His love. – 1 John 4:16 NLT

I am now overwhelmed with possibility, overwhelmed with joy, overwhelmed with hope, overwhelmed with excitement. I remember the tangible manifestations of His love for me: my family, my friends, my church family, the great opportunities God has given me, the places I have traveled to, the people I have met, the successes I have had, the positive encouragement I’ve received, the daily miracles.

Kairos Moment: A flood of Faith fueled by Love now overwhelms me. Being overwhelmed now feels so much lighter, so much brighter, so full of Him.

Sophomore year of high school English class I was paired with another student whose writing was so different than mine. I was the queen of clause-filled sentences and passive language that was flowery and elegant. She was direct and to the point. We were tasked with co-writing an essay and while I learned lots from her style, I still preferred mine. She went on to be a lawyer while I have spent most of my life in television, a field where saying nothing in lots of words might be second only to diplomacy, the other career I have seriously considered.

Proverbs 10:14 TLB states, “A wise man holds his tongue. Only a fool blurts out everything he knows; that only leads to sorrow and trouble.” Television is a fast-paced field that is dominated by men and short attention spans. Therefore, while a high school English class may not have convinced me of the need to be concise, a career where I worked with and led men, as a young Latina, has. The less you say, the more knowledge and authority it is perceived you possess. And we all know, just how important perception is.

Being concise takes preparation. It does not mean not saying anything at all or limiting the times you speak. It means owning your content knowledge. It means studying your audience. Know what the learning styles and the communication styles of your team are. Know the manner in which your information is received by its intended recipients and then tailor your sentences or your ASK to provide as much punch as possible in as few words as possible. Why? Because you want people to listen when you speak and they are more apt to listen if they know what you have to say holds substance.

In the days of short attention spans no one is working on their listening skills. When leading, the clearer your message, the less confusion there is in carrying out your directive.

Kairos Moment: Finally learning this lesson after a lifetime of too many words.

I keep getting all these signs that point to me opening my mouth and being vocal about what I want. I’ve been spending so much time vocalizing what I don’t want and only thinking or imagining about what I do want. So, a couple of days ago, I started speaking up every morning for a couple of minutes.

I was asked by a mentor to stand as an intercessor for him and I keep my word. So, because I’ve been spending time asking for his requests, I’ve been more consistent about asking out loud for mine, too. Well, I’ve now been job searching since mid May and only had 3 interviews. This would be disheartening if it weren’t for the fact that 2 of them have been great positions and I’m learning more about myself and what I want the more I search and the more I hear from God about what is possible. Yesterday, I attended service at my brother’s church because we were going to spend yet another day celebrating my birthday together and I heard a sermon about the BIG ASK. And, it seems like everywhere I look, God is saying to me, “Ask, Raquel, ask.”

But the thing is I do. I audaciously ask Him daily for the craziest, biggest, impossible to achieve things not just for me but for my family, too. They say if what you are asking for doesn’t sound just a tad crazy to others, you aren’t asking big enough. Well, I don’t go around telling everyone what I’m believing for because, just as Os Guinness responded once in a talk about what his call was, I too believe some stuff is TOO sacred, TOO in the realm of divine mystery. So, I won’t sit here and list out my HUGE dreams for my loved ones and myself but please believe me when I tell you that when I have shared with my trusted few what I’m believing for they look at me with that look that says, “Yep, that’s an ‘only if God comes through’ dream, girl, so start praying hard.”

Well, back to this morning. This morning in my BIG ASK, I declared, out loud, that I would hear back from a job today. Not this week…Not this month…TODAY.

KAIROS moment: Sitting at my laptop, I received a phone call 15 minutes after submitting a job application at an exciting, pioneering, multicultural agency with a request for an interview and I’ll be there this Wednesday. I’m expecting a flood of FAVOR.